Car-Pool Lanes

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that a California Department of Transportation official acknowledged that one of the tasks of traffic managers like himself is to actually make life for the lone motorist more difficult, thereby motivating him to car pool. This attitude seems to be rampant throughout Caltrans and leads one to wonder whether Adriana Gianturco’s legacy lives on.

Why are Caltrans, the Orange County Transportation Commission and most of our county supervisors so adamant in forcing car-pool lanes on county residents? Caltrans’ own studies of similar diamond lanes in Hawaii, Los Angeles and San Francisco show dramatic increases in accident rates. Only in Florida was any reduction noted.

Why are our elected county officials allowing their constituents to continue to serve as guinea pigs in a folly that has already been proven to add additional carnage and congestion. Recently the county Transportation Commission revealed plans to install a 24-mile-long car-pool lane on Interstate 405. Other car-pool lanes have not worked. Will these?

I have read that recent studies show that between 25% and 30% of the car-pool lane drivers on the Costa Mesa Freeway are using the lane illegally as single occupants.

State Sen. John Seymour (R-Anaheim), whose 35th District covers the entire 11.8 miles of the Costa Mesa Freeway car-pool lane, is on record opposing continued use of that special lane and believes it should be open to all traffic.

Since Seymour has voiced his opposition to this car-pool lane, perhaps he should consider introducing legislation in December to protect the motorists in his district from their own Department of Transportation.

LYNNE LEKICH

Yorba Linda